By FRANCO PANIZO
The San Antonio Scorpions might just be the hottest team in NASL right now.
After enduring a slow start to the season, the Scorpions picked up a fourth consecutive victory when they topped FC Edmonton, 2-0, at Heroes Stadium on Saturday. Jonathan Greenfield scored minutes prior to halftime, and Ryan Cochrane doubled San Antonio's lead in the second half as 8,310 fans watched on.
Both teams had chances in the opening half, but the Eddies conceded a penalty kick in the 40th minute. Greenfield stepped up and converted the spot kick, and he also delivered the free kick that Cochrane headed past FC Edmonton goalkeeper John Smits in the 75th.
The victory improved the Scorpions to 4-1-2 on the year, and pushed them into third place in the standings. Edmonton dropped to 2-4-1 with the result.
Here is a look back at the rest of the Week 7 action in NASL:
ROWDIES END LOSING STREAK WITH WIN OVER SILVERBACKS
Tampa Bay Rowdies forward Daniel Antoniuk grabbed a first-half brace and Mike Ambersley scored in the second half to put the club's two-game losing streak to an end. The Rowdies defeated the Atlanta Silverbacks, 3-2, on Saturday night in front of 5,000 spectators at Atlanta Silverbacks park. Antoniuk gave the Rowdies a 2-0 lead going into halftime, but Shane Moroney scored the first of his two second-half goals for the Silverbacks to make things interesting. Ambersley, however, raised the deficit back to two when he found the back of the net 12 minutes from time.
STARS STAY UNBEATEN WITH FIRST ROAD VICTORY VS. STRIKERS
Minnesota Stars FC had never managed to beat the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium, not even in the second leg of last year's NASL Championship Series. That changed this past weekend. The Stars remained the only undefeated team in the league with a 3-1 win over the Strikers on Saturday. Mark Anderson netted the opener for the hosts, but Minnesota responded with three unanswered goals from Amani Walker, Miguel Ibarra and Simone Bracalello as 2,720 fans watched on in rainy conditions.
SHRIVER GOAL SEES RAILHAWKS TIE ISLANDERS
The Carolina RailHawks still have yet to win a game in 2012, but they earned a result that should inject confidence into the club on Saturday. Brian Shriver scored on a volleyed effort shortly after halftime to give the RailHawks a 1-1 draw versus the first-place Puerto Rico Islanders. The hosts fell behind in front of a crowd of 3,020 at WakeMed Soccer Park when Jonathan Fana scored, but Shriver equalized in the 49th minute with a well-taken goal.
NASL Standings
1. Puerto Rico Islanders (5-1-2, 17 points, +11 GD)
2. Minnesota Stars FC (4-0-3, 15 points, +6 GD)
3. San Antonio Scorpions (4-1-2, 14 points, +2 GD)
4. Tampa Bay Rowdies (3-3-2, 11 points, 0 GD)
5. Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (2-3-3, 9 points, -4 GD)
6. FC Edmonton (2-4-1, 7 points, 0 GD)
7. Carolina RailHawks (0-4-5, 5 points, -7 GD)
8. Atlanta Silverbacks (0-4-4, 4 points, -8 GD)
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Expecting the Scorpions to continue to rack up the wins? Impressed by the Rowdies' road victory over Atlanta? What do the Strikers need to turn things around?
Share your thoughts below.
You have my eternal gratitude. Your graciousness is appreciated.
Carolina really dominated play, particularly in the 2nd half. They had 4 very good chances to score in the final 15-20 minutes, but just couldn’t convert…one header that I’m not even sure how it was physically possible to miss.
I was fairly underwhelmed by Agbossoumonde, as a side note.
Nice win for the Rowdies, getting 3 points on the road by beating a team they should beat, keeping their focus late and bagging a deciding goal. Club is heading into a huge week starting tomorrow, when they go away to Jacksonville for a US Open Cup match, then “welcome” Minnesota to town on Friday, and, pending the result of the Jacksonville match, hosting the Colorado Rapids next Tuesday…
Didn’t get held up in any bad traffic jams. Fantastic weather. A road point for my beloved puerto Rico Islanders FC. I finally got to see Gale “Boss” Agbossoumonde play in person and chat with him a bit (seems like a good kid); Not a bad road trip to Carolina. Not bad, at all.
Satisfactory Saturday night. 3 points and a win is always better but hey–I’m not gonna complain.
If any of you cats ever get the chance to see a match down at the WAKE, you should do it. It’s a sweet little venue and the staff that operates it is excellent. I highly recommend it…